China Market Insider The 138th Canton Fair: Between Robots and Trade Wars

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China's advancements in advanced manufacturing were the focus of the first phase of the Canton Fair. Read here what was on display.

Despite the many current crises in global trade, the autumn edition of the biannual Canton Fair attracted a record number of more than 150,000 buyers from "222 countries and regions" right at the start, as reported by the Chinese business newspaper Caixin. This represented an increase of 6.3 percent. A total of 32,000 exhibitors at 74,600 booths are expected, also setting a new record.

Among the crowd favorites this time were China's young manufacturers in the field of service robotics. In a dedicated zone, 46 companies showcased many innovations, from humanoid robots and robotic dogs to robots for medical procedures and even for cosmetic surgeries.

Other offerings ranged from fully automated facade cleaning to coffee preparation, from robots for rescue operations in disaster situations to those for traditional Chinese massages.

"I've attended many trade fairs worldwide, but at the Canton Fair, you truly find something new and innovative every six months," a reporter from "China Daily" quoted Canyigit Atay, Product Manager at Turkish home appliance manufacturer Arzum.

After a year of international headlines about China's breakthroughs in bipedal robots, some visitors arrived at the fair with suitcases full of cash to purchase the exhibits right in the early days.

"A Canadian customer bought the only sample of our ultralight cobot on the first day. Additionally, a Brazilian buyer purchased the only sample palletizing solution right at the booth," the "Global Times" quoted Fan Yiwen, the Marketing Director of Sichuan Tlibot.

The manufacturer Inbot from Guangzhou was able to secure its first three orders for its "Padbot robots" shortly after the fair opened in its hometown. These are mobile video conferencing robots with an integrated screen or tablet holder, which can be remotely controlled via an app to navigate "on-site" through offices, schools, or clinics.

A whole range of products reflected the growing convergence between AI algorithms, improved sensors, and mechanics. Combined with the remarkable ability of Chinese manufacturers to invent new applications, this resulted in a mix of entertainment and a glimpse into the future at some exhibition stands.

"I feel like I'm being catapulted forward by springs," exclaimed visitor Zheng Songwu to the assembled reporters as he hopped around with ten kilos of water using a 2.4-kilogram exoskeleton.

An employee of the "Taixi Intelligence Technology Company," which built the device, explained how a sensor picks up the human's muscle signals and transmits them to the exoskeleton's mechanics.

The vast selection of modern, purely industrial robots, such as six-axis articulated arms, SCARAs for screwing, gantries for CNC loading or palletizing, and all kinds of cobots for collaboration with humans, was overwhelming as usual.

The background to this is that China was once again by far the largest market for industrial robots last year, accounting for 54 percent of all devices installed worldwide, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) in Frankfurt. 2024 was also the year when Chinese manufacturers sold more industrial robots in their domestic market than foreign manufacturers for the first time.

What united the "media stars" of the two-legged robots from China with their "everyday variants" for CNC manufacturing and other factory areas was their uncompromising application focus. Even most robotic solutions from the 46 exhibitors in the "service" segment impressed only incidentally with their spectacular stunts, but much more through their clear customer orientation, such as a particularly flexible façade climber.

"The new Y3 overcomes obstacles of up to 20 centimeters," Huang Jian, COO of X-Human, told reporters. This allows 40% more skyscraper facades to be cleaned fully automatically, as the devices are less likely to get stuck on window frames.

New Focus: Medical Technology

Medical technology played a particularly significant role at the Canton Fair this time. While six months ago at the spring edition of the fair, electric cars, batteries, and photovoltaics were referred to as the “new three” of the Chinese manufacturing industry, this time the reporting on the Canton Fair introduced a new narrative.

The "ultra-new three," the new absolute stars of Chinese industry, are now considered to be "robots, AI applications, and all kinds of innovative medicine."

Due to the exhibitors, as well as the deliberate focus set by state media, the fair was a reflection of the current industrial policy of the Chinese government. Beijing aims to make its industries even more internationally competitive through innovation, to address the demographic pressure of a shrinking population and, to some extent, the trade war initiated by Trump.

"The traditional manufacturing model, which relies on labor and cost advantages, is gradually losing significance, while service robots, as representatives of high-tech products, require the integration of AI, precision manufacturing, material sciences, and other disciplines in R&D and production. This directly reflects the growing technological density of the Chinese manufacturing industry," said Wang Peng from the Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing on the sidelines of the fair.

The Chinese company Wuha Qiyunfang Technology Co., Ltd. showcased its self-developed EDA software for the semiconductor industry. This is one of the categories in which the USA is attempting to slow China's technological progress through export restrictions. Accordingly, there was great interest at the exhibition booth.

This time, fewer Americans attended the fair, according to Chinese media reports. While U.S. President Donald Trump is once again threatening his rival China with additional tariffs of 100 percent, many of his compatriots apparently find doing business with China a bit too risky at the moment.

This aligns with official customs statistics, which show that China's exports to the U.S. shrank by 27 percent in September compared to the same month last year, while Chinese shipments to the EU, Southeast Asia, and Africa increased significantly (by 14, 15.6, and 56.4 percent, respectively). China's industry is thus rapidly diversifying its export markets.

"The U.S. market has essentially been lost to us, so we must not lose Europe," the South China Morning Post quoted Louis Huang, a lighting manufacturer from Zhejiang Province.